University of Connecticut is getting $2.3 million in federal grants over the next three years to underwrite tuition to an ethnically diverse pool of 21 graduate students pursuing degrees in fields where the nation's need is greatest – nursing, education and engineering, authorities say.

Congressman Joe Courtney Friday announced that UConn obtained five competitive grants from the U.S. Department of Education totaling $710,752 a year for three years to provide direct fellowship aid to graduate students.

UConn Graduate School Dean Kent Holsinger the school will recruit the top graduate students in the country, with an emphasis on enhancing diversity.